22 July 2009.
Tennessee, United States
Comment: This is a slow-medium upright growing selection of Hamamelis virginiana averaging 40 cm in height each year. The mother plant was identified in a seedling row of H. virginiana planted at Tennessee Technological University (TTU) in 1988 after purchasing bare root dormant seedlings from Boyd Brothers Nursery. The plant was observed to have more compact growth and a heavier bloom set than the other plants. Dr. Mike Arnold transplanted it into his yard in Cookeville, TN for further observation. Dr. Arnold left the plants in Tennessee when he moved to Texas. Edgar Davis was Dr. Arnold's technician and brought the plant to our attention when he joined the USDA in 2004. We brought the mother plant to the station in 2005, but it has since died. All plants alive now are from cuttings from the mother plant. Leaves are dark on the upper surface with distinct yellowish green midrib and veins on the underside. Leaves are typically 7 to 13 cm in length with the average width of 6-9 cm. The leaf base is unequalateral. Yellow fall leaf color develops in mid-October but is not extremely showy. Leaf drop generally occurs during late October, just about the time the flowers are beginning to show color. Flower buds form in late summer and become noticeable by early September. A few flowers open sporadically in late September into early October, but by leaf drop in late October to mid-November, yellow flowers are abundant and extremely showy for several weeks. Individual flower petals average about 22 mm in length and about 2 mm in width. According to a solar noon evaluation of flower color with RHS Colour Chart, the yellow flowers match 9B or 12B. Softwood cuttings taken in June and July have had 80-90% rooting success using a 5-second quick dip of 2500 ppm KIBA. PI number 680618 assigned 3/8/2017. Release as 'Sunglow' confirmed October 2017.
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